CUPERTINO, California (Reuters) - Apple Inc
on Tuesday cut the price on its entry-level notebook computer to $999
in a move expected to attract budget-minded buyers at a time when
recession fears loom over the global economy.
Apple also showed off a new line of aluminum MacBook notebooks starting at $1,299.
Shares of Apple, which have risen about 20 percent since the company
last week invited media to a notebook event, fell 5 percent in heavy
trade on the Nasdaq to $104.64. Many analysts had expected the
entry-level notebook price to fall to $899.
"Bad for the stock today, good for the stock over the next couple of
months," said Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster, who said that the new
machines looked good even if the new entry-level price was not as low
as Wall Street had hoped.
The $999 price will be for an updated model of its white-body
notebooks. The new aluminum machines will use Nvidia Corp graphics and
Intel Corp processors.
When asked if Apple would get into the market for small 'netbook'
notebook computers, Chief Executive Steve Jobs said, "It's a nascent
market" and that Apple would see how it went.
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Desktops & Notebooks 
